DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTERThirty years of Teaching, Learning, Caring for marine mammals and the environment we share.DRC is a nonprofit marine mammal education and research facility located in the heart of the fabulous Florida Keys. Home to a family of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions, DRC offers a variety of educational, fun, exciting programs, and close-up interactions. We hope you enjoy our blog!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Guests often ask how we name our dolphins. Our animals have
unique identifiers that are given to them for various reasons. Some of our
dolphins like Molly, Sandy, and Rainbow, came to us from other facilities and
we didn’t want to change the handle they already knew. Other dolphins have been
named based on their “dolphinalities”.

Pandora, for example, was given her designation because she
was a curious little girl. She was nicknamed our “bumper baby” because she
would get into anything and everything. Her mom, Merina, had a hard time
keeping up with her! Even as a newborn, Pandora was an independent calf eager
to explore her surroundings.

Our
rescue dolphins, Jax and Louie, were given their names because of where they
were rescued. Jax was found in the Saint John’s River in Jacksonville and Louie
was found after the oil spill in Louisiana. We felt it important to honor their
stories.

Many of our other dolphins were given names connected to their
genealogy. A.J. is in honor of his parents Aphrodite and Joe. Delta’s name is a
combination of his grandfather Delphi and mom Aleta. We love our dolphin
heritage and it’s important for us to always remember our cherished dolphins.

Luna and Pax got their names because of when they were born.
Luna was born on a blue moon so she was given the Spanish word for moon. Pax,
means peace in Latin, and we thought this appropriate for a dolphin born on
Easter Sunday.

Unlike humans, we do not name our dolphins when they are first
born. We take suggestions for names from staff and members, but nothing is
official until we know more about our new little blessing. Gender cannot be
established until we get a good view of a baby’s belly side which may take
several months. Once we know whether we have a female or male baby dolphin and
a little bit about their personality, we can select the perfect name for our
new family member.